The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in water purifier machines shipped from the Netherlands to Lagos.
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, noting that the seizure was made at a courier company in Lagos on May 26.
According to the NDLEA, the consignment contained three kilograms of ketamine and 199 grams of MDMA, popularly known as Ecstasy, carefully concealed inside the water purifier machines.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple, Musa Sunday and Mercy Sunday, alongside another suspect, Salomi Ezekiel, 38, after recovering 100 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 1,246 kilograms from their residence in the Gonin Gora area on May 24.
The agency also disclosed that operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway at Jere intercepted a 30-year-old suspect, Sunusi Musa, on the same day while allegedly transporting 380 rounds of 7.62mm military-grade ammunition to Katsina State.
According to the statement, the suspect and the recovered ammunition were handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided a warehouse in Gidan Kukah, Bosso Local Government Area, on May 27 and recovered 457 kilograms of skunk.
The agency said a suspect, Godwin Zakka, 46, was subsequently arrested at his residence in the Gbeganu area of Minna in connection with the seizure.
Similarly, in Enugu State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway on May 28 intercepted a commercial vehicle travelling to Taraba State.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 22,000 tramadol pills, 100 ampoules of pentazocine and 200 grams of bromazepam, while a suspect identified as James Maigari Wisdom was arrested.
The anti-narcotics agency also said it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across the country through awareness programmes in schools and communities.
According to the agency, the sensitisation exercises were conducted at Government Secondary School, Adiabo, Cross River State; St Patrick’s Memorial College, Wukari, Taraba State; Roman Catholic Mission Nursery and Primary School, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State; and Kings Secondary School, Amawbia, Anambra State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations in Kaduna, Niger and Enugu states, as well as personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa urged operatives nationwide to sustain efforts aimed at reducing the supply of illicit drugs while intensifying public sensitisation campaigns against drug abuse.
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